Godhuma Dosai/Wheat Flour Pancakes..

Dosa is a very common and staple food of South India and is very tasty too!!
It is similar to the pancakes we get in the US but the flour used for the dosa batter is predominantly rice and whole black lentils.
There are so many methods of making dosa and so many varieties too, each special and tasty in their own way.
One such dosa is the Godhumai or whole wheat flour Dosa which does not need any soaking,grinding or fermenting and can be made instantly.
This is made during times of fasting or vratham among the Tambrams and has a sweet and a spicy version too.The recipe which i am going to share here is the spicy godhuma dosa.Here it goes:

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour-2 Cups

Rice Flour-1/4 Cup(optnl)

Red Chilly powder-1 Tsp

Water-3 to 4 Cups approximately

Salt to taste

Oil to make dosas

For Tempering:

Mustard seeds-1 Tsp

Cumin seeds-1 Tsp

Asafoetida/Hing-1/2 Tsp

Oil-1 Tsp

Curry leaves-a few

Procedure:

1.Mix wheat flour, rice flour, salt, red chilly powder well and add water little by little to form a thin batter without any lumps.
 
2.The batter should not be too thick like the normal dosa batter or should be too watery either for the dosa to come out crispy.

3.Now for the tempering, heat 1 tsp of oil  and add the rest of the items under tempering and pour it in the batter.

4.Mix well and set aside for 20 minutes.

5.Heat a tawa or griddle and when it is hot(very important for the tawa to get heated well) pour the batter in a scattered manner.

6.Now, if the batter is too thick,then it will stay in a place and not spread and if it is too thin,it will start breaking as soon as we pour the batter.

7.Grease it with a little oil around the corners and wait for it to turn brown and flip over the other side and cook for a few minutes till it becomes crisp.

8.Clean the griddle with a wet cloth and and stir the batter well each time before making the next dosa.

9.This dosa tastes good with anything like milagai podi or gun powder, coconut or tomato chutney and believe me, kids love this dosa with sauce or ketchup!!

Note:The batter consistency for this dosa is very important and it is best when eaten hot, otherwise tends to become soggy.

Methi Pulao/Mendhiya Keerai Saadham/Fenugreek Leaves Flavoured Rice..

Methi or fenugreek leaves as we all know are very strong and aromatic and have multiple uses.They are widely used for culinary as well as medicinal purposes.They are said to reduce the bad cholesterol in the body and excess sugar in the blood or urine.
Have a bunch of methi leaves at home and wondering what to do??
Here's a very simple recipe i came across in showmethecurry.com and would like to share it:

Ingredients:

Methi leaves-2 bunches

Any long grain white rice-2 Cups

Tomato-1 medium size chopped

Green chillies-4 nos. or depending on spice levels

Red Chilly Pwdr-1 Tsp

Turmeric Pwdr-1 Tsp

Garam Masala Pwdr-1/2 Tsp

Cumin coriander Pwdr-1 Tsp

Oil-2 Tbsp

Salt to taste

Procedure:

1. Chop the roots and the thick stems off the bunch of Fenugreek Leaves.

2. Wash well and finely chop the rest.

3. Sprinkle a generous amount of Salt on the leaves, mix and keep aside for 15-20 minutes.

4. Wash the Rice well and soak in some Water and keep aside for 20 minutes.

5.In a pan (that has a tight fitting lid) or a rice cooker, heat Oil on medium heat.

6. Once the Oil is hot, add in the Cumin Seeds and allow them to change color.
 
7. Add in Green Chillies,Tomatoes and Turmeric Powder.

8. Squeeze out the water from the Fenugreek Leaves and put them in the pan.

9. Add in Cumin-Coriander Powder, Red Chili Powder and Garam Masala Powder.

10. Cook for a couple of minutes.

11. Drain the water from the Rice and add the Rice to the Methi Leaves.

12. Cook for 2 minutes.

13. Add the Water and mix well.

14. Check on the Salt, add in needed.

15. Increase the heat, and allow the Rice to cook till most of the Water has evaporated and you can see the Rice come up to the surface.

16. Mix, lower heat, preferably to simmer and cover. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes.

17. After 15 minutes, open cover, turn off the heat, mix/fluff gently.

18. Cover and allow the Rice to rest for a couple of minutes before serving.

19. Serve hot with Raita and Chips.

Restaurant Style Venpongal and Tomato Gotsu..

There are lot of things which make us feel nostalgic and and one such thing for me is having hot steaming venpongal and coconut chutney for breakfast in Hotel Annapoorna Gowrishankar in Coimbatore, a city in South India.
And for all ya coimbatoreans out here, im sure you'll are missing the Annapoorna Vengpongal like i do too!!
This is a South Indian breakfast delicacy eaten with coconut chutney, tomato gotsu or puli gotsu.
A small addition to the recipe makes a big diference in the dish and thus makes it restaurant style.
Last but not the least, my recipe would be incomplete if i fail to credit my brother-in-law for his expertise in making this particular combo.Cannot forgot our Phili trip and the Venpongal Tomato Gotsu you had made for us!!
Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

Raw Rice-1 Cup

Paasi Paruppu/Moong Dhall-1 and 1/4 Cups

Milk-1 Cup

Water to cook-2 Cups(can be adjusted accordingly)

Salt to taste

For Tempering:

Ghee-2 Tbsp

Whole or broken cashews-10 Pieces

Melagu/Whole black pepper-2 Tbsp

Jeeragam/Cumin seeds-2 Tbsp

Pepper powder-1 Tsp (optnl)

Green chillies-2 Nos.(optnl)

Ginger-1 Tbsp (crushed or grated)

Asafoetida/Peringayam-1 Tsp

Curry leaves-a sprig

Procedure:

1.Wash the rice and dhall, drain it and spread on a paper towel or cloth for all the water to get absorbed.

2.Dry roast the above for a few mins till the  rice becomes white in color and aromatic,but not brown, and pressure cook the same for two whistles along with the milk and water, adding salt.

3.And now for the tadka, heat ghee in a pan and add all the items under tempering and saute for a few mins and pour it on top of the pongal.

4.Mix well and serve it hot with ghee on top.

Note:The pongal can also be cooked with only water,but adding milk gives it a very rich taste and makes it the Restaurant Style Pongal!!
To save time,the tempering can also be done in the beginning and then cooked along with the rice and dhall.This yields the same result.

Ingredients for Tomato/Gotsu:

1.Tomatoes-5 medium finely chopped
( i use a combination of whole tomatoes and tomato paste for the red colour)

2.Onions-2 medium finely chopped(optional)

3.Mustard seeds-1 Tsp

4.Urad dhall-1 Tsp

5.Channa dhall-1 Tsp

6.Green chillies-5 small

7.Dry red Chilly-1 no.

8.Curry leaves-a sprig

9.Ginger-an inch finely chopped or grated

10.Red Chilly Powder-1Tsp

11.Rasam Powder-1 Tsp

12.Turmeric-a pinch

13.Asafoetida/Peringayam-a pinch

14.Oil-1 Tbsp

15.Salt to taste

Procedure:

1.Heat oil in a sauce pan and add the mustard seeds, urad dhall, channa dhall, dry red chilly, green chillies, ginger, curry leaves, asafoetida and turmeric powder.

2.Now add  the chopped onions, fry them untill transparent and then add the tomatoes and tomato paste if using.

3.Let it cook for a few minutes till the raw smell goes and then add salt, chilly powder, rasam powder and little water.

4.Cook covered on medium flame for a five minutes till the onions and tomatoes absorb the flavour from the spice powders.

5.The Gotsu has to be watery and not thick so do not overcook it.

6.Yummy tomato gotsu is ready to be eaten with hot venpongal!!

Gujarati Khichdi and Kadi Pakoda..

The Khichdi Kadi duo was a super hit in our house recently and this simple yet wholesome protein packed food is rightly called as the 'comfort food' of (not only)the Gujaratis!!!
I dont know if this recipe is authentic,but it sure is delectable and irresistable!!
It can be made plain or with vegetables,with yellow moong dhall or green,mushy or separate depending on individual's taste and convenience.
I used the green broken moong dhall and raw rice as i wanted it to be a little different from the regular venpongal made with the yellow moong dhall.
The recipe for the Khichdi,Kadi and the Pakoda is as follows:

Ingredients for Khichdi:

Broken green gram dhall/Yellow moong dhall-1 Cup

Peas and Carrots- 1/2 Cup (optional)

Raw rice-1 Cup

Water to cook - 3 Cups(can be adjusted accordingly)

Ghee-4 Tbsp

Bay Leaf-1 No.

Cloves-4 nos.

Cinnamon-a small piece

Jeera/cumin seeds-1 Tbsp

Whole Black Pepper-1 Tsp

Ginger-1 inch piece

Green chillies-4-5 nos.

Asafoetida-1 Tsp

Turmeric pwdr-1 Tsp

Curry leaves-a sprig

Salt to taste

Procedure:

1.Wash both the rice and dhall and let it soak for about half an hour.

2.Pressure the above in a cooker for about two whistles with some green chillies,ginger,turmeric and salt.

3.Now heat the ghee in a pan and add the rest of the items like bay leaf,cinnamon,cloves,black peppers,cumin,curry leaves and hing and pour it on top of hte Kichdi.

4.Let it stand for a few mins with the lid on before serving  for the aroma to cook up.

5.Eat it hot with a dollop of ghee and kadi pakoda by the side.

Ingredients for Kadi:

1.Thick curd-1/2 Cup diluted to 1 Cup/Yogurt drink-1 Cup

2.Besan Flour-2 tbsp

3.Ginger-an inch

4.Green chillies-4 small

5.Turmeric-a pinch

6.Asafoetida or Hing-a pinch

7.Curry leaves-a sprig

8.Cilantro-a few for garnishing

9.Salt to taste

10.Oil-1 Tsp

Procedure:

1.Whisk the curd and add the besan flour,salt and turmeric mixing well to avoid lumps.

2.Heat a tsp of oil and add the rest of the ingredients to it.

3.Now pour the curd-besan mixture and let it boil for a minute or two till it starts to become thick.

4. Switch off the heat and add the chopped cilantro to garnish.

5.If u feel the Kadi is too thick,then just add a little water and dilute it.

Ingredients for Pakoda:

Besan flour-1/2 Cup

Onion-1 medium-finely chopped

Red chilli pwdr-1 Tsp

Hing-a pinch

Oil to deep fry

Procedure:

1.Sieve the besan flour,salt and chilli powder and hing together and add water little by little to form a batter,the consistency of which should be like dosa batter.(not too thick or too watery)

2.Make small balls and deep fry in oil and drain it on a paper towel to absorb excess oil.

3.Add the fried Pakodas to the Kadi before serving and enjoy it with hot Khichdi with a dollop of ghee on top.


Note: Another time saving method to cook the Khichdi is to heat ghee in the cooker,add all the ingredients for tempering,saute for a few minutes,add the washed and soaked rice,dhall and water and pressure cook for two whistles.

Capsicum Bath/Kodamilagai Sadham/Simla Mirchi Chawal..

Come Winter,come spicy food!!
And what comes to my mind right now is a plate of hot Capsicum Bath with some raitha and chips.
Oh the very thought of it makes me drool!!
Talking about Capsicum,it is a vegetable very rich in Pottasium and vitamin C and it also gives a very nice flavour when added to any dish.
There are many ways in which this particular rice is made,but the one im going to share is the Karnataka style Capsicum Bath.The spice powder or curry powder used in this dish is primarily of Kannada style and is also used for sauteing a lot of other vegetables such as brinjal,ladies finger,ivy guard etc.
Here goes the Recipe:

Ingredients:

Raw rice-1 cup (cooked and cooled)

Capsicum/Bell Pepper-4 nos.

Mustard seeds-1 Tsp

Urad dhall/Ulutham paruppu-1 Tbsp

Channa Dhall/Kadali Paruppu-1 Tbsp

Turmeric-1 Tsp

Dry red chillies-1 or 2 nos.

Curry leaves- a sprig

Hing/peringayam-a pinch

Salt to taste

Oil-2 Tbsp

Ingredients for curry powder:

To dry roast and coarsely grind:

Kadalai paruppu/channa dhall-1 Tbsp

Ulutham paruppu/urad dhall-1 Tbsp

Thovaram paruppu/thoor dhall-1 Tbsp

Dry Red chillies(bedege/kashmiri mirchi)-6 nos.

Dhaniya/coriander seeds-1 Tbsp

Katti Peringayam/hing- a small piece

Grated dry coconut/kopparai-4 Tbsp

Black Pepper/melagu-1 Tsp

Cumin seeds/Jeeragam-1 Tsp

Cinnamon-1 inch piece

Procedure:

1.Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard,urad dhall,channa dhall,red chilly,hing,turmeric,curry leaves and the capsicum.

2.Add salt and saute it for a few minutes till it is soft yet crunchy.

3.Add the curry powder and mix it well.

4.Now add the cooled rice,mix it well and let it sit for sometime before serving.

5.Serve along with some raitha or appalam,vadagam or chips of your choice.

Note:The curry powder could be stored in air tight containers and freezed for upto a month.

Golden Moments.....

The Awesome Twosome!!!

The SNMV Mafia Girls-wat a day!!!

With my Sonu girl at Marina Beach-how she loved the merry go round!!

Thiruvathirai Kali and Ezhu Kari Kootu..

Back after a long break,im very happy to add a new recipe to my blog!
This is a very traditional sweet dish and is prepared for an auspicious occasion among the TamBrams called "Thirvathirai" for Lord Nataraja. The sweet dish is paired with "Ezhu kari Kootu" or in other words a spicy seven vegetable kootu which includes a lot of root vegetables like Kavathu kizhangu, Senaikizhangu, Maravalli kizhangu, Pushanikkai, Parangikkai, Avarakkai and Mochai Payiru.
People, please pardon me.The english names for the above veggies will soon follow!! The combination may sound a bit weird, but trust me people it tastes unbelievable!! Now having made the kali and kootu last week for Thiruvadhirai,the recipe is fresh in my mind and i would like to put it down before i forget!! Here goes the recipe:

Ingredients for the Kali:

Raw Rice-1 cup

Jaggery-1 cup or 1 and half depending on the sweetness of the jaggery and individual's taste

Moong Dhall/Paasi Paruppu- a handful

Ghee-2 Tbsp

Cashews-few to garnish

Crushed Cardamom pods-3 to 4 to garnish

Coconut scrapings-5 Tbsp

Water

Procedure:

1.Dry roast the raw rice and moong dhal until brown and aromatic and powder it coarsely in the blender without adding water.

2.Boil water in a thick bottomed vessel or cooker and add the jaggery cubes or powder and let it melt.

3.Now washing the rice needs a little extra care as it is in the powdered form and slip off along with the water.

4.After washing,add the rice dhal powder to the jaggery mixture and let it boil till the rice and the dhal is cooked or if using the cooker, let it cook for two or three whistles.

5.I usually don't measure the water and go by eyeballing, but if it has to be measured we can roughly use 1:2 ratio. i.e 2 cups water for 1 cup rice.

6.It is very important that the Kali's texture has to be separate and not too mushy ,so care should be taken while adding water for cooking.

7.The final step is the garnishing.Fry the cashews in ghee until golden brown and pour it over the Kali along with the coconut scrapings and the crushed cardamoms and let it sit for a few minutes with the lid closed before serving.

Now there are lots of ways to prepare this kootu and i am sharing the one which my mother usually makes.

Ingredients for Kootu:

Thovaram Paruppu/Thoor Dhall - 1/2 cup

Root Vegetables-Kavaththu Kizhangu,Maravalli kizhangu and Senai kizhangu/Yam - washed and peeled -2 Cups

Mochhai Payiru/Val Dhal/Hyacinth Bean or field bean-peeled-1/2 Cup

Avarakkai/Sem/Broad Beans-washed and chopped into 1 inch pieces-1/2 Cup

Pooshanikkai/Kaddu/White pumpkin-chopped into big pieces-1 Cup

Parangikkai/Yellow Kaddu/Yellow Pumpkin-chopped into big pieces-1 Cup

Tamarind juice-1 Cup diluted from 1 tsp of tamarind paste

Turmeric - A pinch

Salt to taste

To dry roast and coarsely grind:

Kadalai Paruppu/Channa dhall -3 Tbsp

Red Chillies (Bedege/Kashmiri) -4 Nos.

Red Chillies (Anand/Salem) -4 Nos. or more depending on spice levels

Coriander seeds/Kothamalli verai -1Tbsp

Asafoetida/Peringayam/Hing -1 Tsp

Cinnamon-a small piece (optnl)

Poppy seeds-1 Tbsp

Grated Dry Coconut/Kopparai-2 Tbsp

For Tempering/Thalippu/Tadka:

Oil-1 Tbsp

Mustard seeds-1 Tsp

Curry leaves-1 Sprig 

Procedure:

1.Wash and cook the above vegetables along with the thoor dhall adding a pinch of turmeric not making it too mushy.

2.In a skillet,add the ingredients for tempering and once the mustard seeds start bursting,add the tamarind juice and let it boil for a few minutes.

3.Then add the cooked veggies and let it boil till the veggies absorb the tamarind essence,approxiamtely 5-8 minutes.

4.Now add the dry roasted and coarsely ground spice powder and boil for a few more minutes until the kootu starts to thicken.

5.Do not overcook as the vegetables are already boiled and they may get mushy.

6.The Kali has to be eaten hot with a dollop of ghee and the Kootu to go by the side.

Note: The vegetables can also be substituted with carrots,beans,chayote squash,etc  in case of non-availability of the above root vegetables without having to compromise much on the taste. Infact,i used the same as i did not get the root veggies!
The above spice powder could also be stored in air tight containers and freezed for upto 6 mnths.